DETROIT — Seoul, Korea-based Kia Motors is known for its value vehicles, but hopes to spread out in a new direction with production of the Stinger, a speedy performance car that hopes to compete with models like the BMW 6 Series and Audi A6.
The 2018 Stinger was unveiled at the Russell Industrial Center in Detroit, and via a live Internet stream on Kia’s The Curve Ahead website .
The Detroit warehouse was decorated to look, feel and sound like an upscale night club with a slew of red spotlights, giving faces and fancy clothes that surrounded the car a reddish hue.
Servers meandered through the thick, mingling crowds carrying platters of hors d’oeuvres, including a spicy chickpea appetizer delivered on end of paintbrushes, Asian pork, beef tartar and red deviled eggs with salmon.
A Kia representative, who described the gritty exterior of the large warehouse as something straight out of the movie « Robocop, » said the event was all about « having fun with cars.  »
Albert Biermann, Kia’s head of vehicle testing and high-performance development, said the Stinger offers a driver confidence because of its stability, even while making sharp turns at high speeds that « make your heart thump.  »
The Stinger is a five-passenger sports hatchback sedan that « promises to be the highest-performance production vehicle in the company’s history and is backed by Kia Motors’ industry-leading quality and reliability, » according to the company website. « Offered with multiple engine and drivetrain configurations and luxurious accommodations, the Stinger is planned to go on sale in the U. S. late this year.  » Pricing will be announced closer to the vehicle’s launch date.  »
Its initial market launch and production is expected in Korea this summer. Biermann declined to reveal an expected sale price.
Kia has dubbed the V6 Stinger it’s « fastest-accelerating » model to date.
A concept model of the Stinger was revealed in 2011.
Leading up to the event, Kia had not released many details about the specifics of the car, but launched a website to highlight some of its features through a series of videos. More details about the Sttinger were released on the website Sunday.
« 0-to-100 kph. A benchmark for any car operating on a higher level of performance, and the number that enthusiasts look for first, » a teaser from Kia reads. « The fastest-accelerating Kia to date represents a new paradigm of performance, its heart-pounding power encouraging you to grip the wheel a little more tightly.  »
Detroit auto show press preview days run through Tuesday. Industry days are Jan. 11-12, and the show will be open to the public Jan. 14-22.
The Detroit auto show is expected to draw more than 800,000 visitors during its two-week run.

Similarity rank: 2.2

Sentiment rank: 2.3

© Source: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2017/01/kia_has_fun_unveiling_sleek_ne.html
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.

| Print | E-mail
Sunday, 08 January 2017 14:30
Buddhist monk sets himself on fire in demonstration against agreement with Japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves.
A South Korean monk is in critical condition after setting himself ablaze to protest against the country’s deal with Japan on compensation for wartime sex slaves.
The 64-year-old Buddhist monk suffered third-degree burns across his body and serious damage to vital organs following his self-immolation during a rally late on Saturday in the capital, Seoul, calling for the ouster of impeached President Park Geun-hye, police said.
He is unconscious and unable to breathe on his own, an official from the Seoul National University Hospital told The Associated Press news agency on Sunday on condition of anonymity.
Police said in his notebook, the monk called Park a « traitor » over her government’s 2015 agreement with Japan that sought to settle a long-standing row over South Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by Japan’s World War II military.
According to The Korea Times, he left a memo at the scene demanding the nullification of the contentious settlement.
« Please don’t make my death worthless, » he reportedly wrote.
Rising tensions
Under the agreement, Japan pledged to fund a Seoul-based foundation set up to help support the victims. South Korea, in exchange, vowed to refrain from criticising Japan over the issue and try to resolve the Japanese grievance over a bronze statue representing wartime sex slaves in front of its embassy in Seoul.
Yet, the deal continues to be criticised in South Korea because it was reached without approval from victims, and opponents say it does not go far enough in holding Japan responsible for its wartime abuses.
Students have been holding sit-in protests next to the Seoul statue for more than a year over fears the government might try to remove it.
On Friday, Japan announced it would recall its ambassador to South Korea and suspend economic talks in response to the placing of another « comfort woman » statue representing wartime sex slaves in front of its consulate in the Korean port city of Busan.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged South Korea to remove the statues and implement the 2015 agreement.
« It has been mutually confirmed that this is a final and irreversible agreement. Japan has sincerely fulfilled its obligation, » Abe said on a NHK news talk show aired on Sunday. He said Japan had already paid one billion yen ($8.5m) in compensation.
« Next, I think South Korea must firmly show its sincerity, » he said, adding the agreement should be implemented regardless of leadership change as a « matter of credibility ».
At the time of the deal, Seoul said there were 46 surviving South Korean victims.

Similarity rank: 1.1

Sentiment rank: -5.4

© Source: http://mwcnews.net/news/asia-pacfic/63145-s-korean-monk.html
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.

And people always look at me like I just recommended they eat a spoonful of caterpillars.
« Um, no, » they’ll say. « I just… can’t.  »
Kia has been enjoying rising sales, but its image as a budget carmaker for those who simply can’t afford more has been hard to shake. Even a very nice luxury car like Kia’s Cadenza hasn’t been able to really do the job.
Perhaps the Kia Stinger, a sharp-looking performance sedan just unveiled ahead of the Detroit Auto Show, will finally push Hyundai’s Korean sister brand into the spotlight it deserves. The Stinger might not sell in huge numbers, but that’s not really the point.
Related: Small SUVs take over LA Auto Show
The Stinger is expected to change minds, especially here in America, a Kia spokesman said. Kia has not yet announced the price, but it’s expected to go on sale late this year.
The car is a rarity these days, a rear-wheel drive sedan. (An all-wheel-drive option will be available.)
It’s a European-style performance car — it was designed in Germany — but Kia isn’t claiming that it’ll beat everything else on the road. It’s supposed to offer a blend of performance and refinement, the sort of car you’d enjoy taking on a long drive but that won’t leave you drained at the end of it.
« The Stinger has nothing to do with being the first to arrive at the destination, » Gregory Guillaume, chief designer, Kia Motors Europe, said in a statement. « This car is all about the journey.  »
The car’s two engine options are powerful, but not shocking by modern standards. The base car will have a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that can produce as much as 255 horsepower. The more expensive Kia Stinger GT will have a 3.3-liter twin turbo V6 capable of producing 365 horsepower.
Related: Why your SUV needs winter tires
Most cars sold today are front-wheel-drive. That means engine power goes to the front wheels, which pull the car along while also turning and steering. In rear-wheel-drive cars, the back wheels push the car along the road and the front wheels just steer. That strict separation of duties — power at one end, steering at the other — can give the driver a greater sense of feedback and control, making the car more exciting to drive.
The Stinger will also be available with all-wheel-drive, but the all-wheel-drive system is tuned to deliver more power to the back wheels than the front. The all-wheel-drive system also uses torque vectoring, which sends more power to a wheel on one side or the other to help push the car through a turn.
While it does have the profile of a sedan, the Stinger is, technically speaking, a hatchback. The entire rear window area lifts up revealing a cargo area that goes straight into the passenger cabin.
The Stinger will go on sale by the end of this year. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet but the vehicle’s cost is expected to start from roughly $35,000 to $45,000.

Similarity rank: 0

Sentiment rank: 4.6

© Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_latest/~3/dF78a0oCJKE/index.html
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.